A series of focus groups were conducted in Everett, MA - a community with a sizeable foreign-born population - and were offered in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, and English for immigrants of other backgrounds. Documented (37%) and undocumented (63%) participants across all the focus groups described living with a constant fear of deportation, either for themselves or their loved ones.

In an era of mass deportation and anti-immigrant policies, a "culture of fear" exists among many in immigrant and Latinx communities. Anti-immigrant policies can create hostile sociopolitical environments, and as punitive immigration enforcement becomes increasingly common, those who feel "hunted" by ICE can experience intense feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression. Discrimination experienced by immigrants can also lead to chronic stress, which negatively impacts both physical and mental health.

Beginning in 2011, there was an increase of unaccompanied children from the Central American Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,) entering the U.S. While many children were placed with adult sponsors, about 5%-35% remain in long term foster care (LTFC) waiting for deportation hearings. Research has shown that instability in the foster system such as moving frequently has led to poor outcomes.

The authors of this report applied their unique methodology to Census data to determine the characteristics of what they call the DACA “immediately eligible” population—those who have met all educational requirements for participation in the program. Past studies of this population have been survey-based, but have not been fully representative.

This report is based on the testimonies of 600 migrants who were deported from the United States to Mexico between August 2016 and April 2017. Those interviewed pointed towards systematic failures to follow established procedures for detention and deportation. For example, 43.5 percent of interviewees reported that they were not informed of their right to contact their consulate, and more than half (55.7 percent) were not asked if they feared returning home – a key element of applying for asylum.

This essay looks at how the Trump administration's approach to immigration, while powered by a "rhetoric of unconstrained severity," has "deep roots" in the policies of the previous two administrations and represents a "doubling-down on some of the least productive approaches to enforcement." The first part of the essay describes the enforcement landscape of the Obama administration and how that landscape changed over time.

This paper documents what is happening to women and children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and seeking asylum in the U.S. For the most part, they are fleeing horrific violence in Central America. Using information drawn from thousands of cases of families detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, this report illustrates the difficulties these asylum seekers are having navigating the fast-track removal process known as expedited removal.

This report, based on the cases of 125 individuals and families, documents the difficulties asylum seekers are having requesting asylum at the U.S.-Mexican border. In many cases and at multiple ports of entry, asylum seekers are being turned away by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers without being referred to an asylum officer. Many are told that they must have an "appointment" from Mexican officials before they can seek asylum in the U.S. or that the U.S. is no longer providing asylum.

The authors of this paper sketch out a path to reducing the undocumented population in the U.S. through fundamental reform of our immigration system. In their plan, they seem less concerned with "amnesty" programs and more with reforms that will ensure that the undocumented population does not grow again in the future. The paper begins with an analysis of presidential signing statements for immigration-related legislation going back to 1924. "These statements," according to the authors, "reveal broad consensus on the interests and values that the U.S.

The author frames this paper as a response to the question often asked by those in favor of harsher immigration enforcement - "What part of illegal in illegal immigration do you not understand?" While the paper specifies ten distinct problems with the concept of "illegal immigrant," several themes arise. For example, the author refutes the idea that those who are undocumented are willingly in this status.